


Occulta Ingenia

by Lobster_Ruu



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-16
Updated: 2014-04-06
Packaged: 2018-01-01 17:43:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1046701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lobster_Ruu/pseuds/Lobster_Ruu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Forgetting was what she so desired. Freeing her mind and body from the world. She climbed. Higher and higher until nothing could touch her. Alive and free until one day she stumbled upon a murder happening right before her eyes. The attackers sought her out to silence her plea. She runs. But running often doesn't get you anywhere. She fled to the pits of the city. Going up would not save her. She lived among the poor, the hurt, and the forgivers. They found her anyways. Until a rescuer comes to her aide. Someone just like her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sights and Sounds

**Author's Note:**

> This is an Assassin's Creed Fan Fiction with no characters based from the actual game. I'm just using ideas and topics discussed in the games. I came up with this idea on my own. None of it was anyone else's idea. Occulta Ingenia means Hidden Talents in Latin. I hope I'm not missing out on anything else but feel free to post comments about what you think. I'm really excited about this story! Thanks!

She wanted to get away from the world. Escaping it was all she wanted. She wanted to feel the wind rush through clothes. To be free of the world. That's exactly how she escaped the darkness. It started out small, climbing small buildings to get away from the stench of the world below. She had a shed by her house that she always climbed. Then it progressed. Buildings went to leaps then to rooftops, and then to tree climbing. Climbing had always been her ideal for getting away from the world. She climbed, higher and higher to escape. 

Flaming red hair swirled as she stood atop the roof of a building. The higher she climbed, the higher she wanted to be. 

Rosia. The Seeker of Heights. 

That is the name she bore. High atop the world she stood. Never coming back down. Still as a stone she surveyed her city with an open mind. 

The thought of going back down to the real world scared her beyond anything. Several times she slept on top of this tall skyscraper admiring the faint blinking lights above her. Was it as simple as this? Had she been this dedicated to spending her whole life like this? 

Her parents yelled at her constantly. She was late everyday at home, to school, and neighbors complained of a strange noise coming from the roof. She hated living at home, hearing her parents constantly fight. The thought made her cringe. How were they still a family? She knew it was crumbling. Any day now and Dad would walk out of the house. 

She wanted him gone. She wanted her life to be like this everyday. Quiet, and perfect. 

Her legs snaked around a jutted edge as she peered further into the depths of society. Her home was on these roofs. Nothing could take that away. Each morning she saw the sky grow brighter and fade that same day. Freedom and escape. 

The evening sun shone brightly across the sky. She never wanted to leave. The last dying rays kissed the slope of the earth one last time plunging shadows into an even further darkness. It was time for her to go. The sights and sounds would last in her heart. Fingers found the edge of the building as she hoisted her well toned body over the hanging edge. 

Feet found the building and she slowly made her descent. The building was old. It held many secrets in its foundation. She liked it. It had many notches for her feet and hands to find. Her hands often slipped on the smooth stone but she had come prepared with gloves to help her fingers from slipping. Azure eyes studied the next place to put her fingers.

If getting down safely was her goal she had to be sharp eyed. In her case, she was a little to sharp eyed. She passed by a window to only have a gaze. Blood spattered the windows. What happened? Curiosity took over as she slowly opened the window to peak inside. A body lay on the floor, slashed to pieces. Vomit rose in her throat as she stared down at the figure. Her eyes couldn't even waver away from the slashed figure. 

Their eyes as wide as could be. Dead. Unmoving. Pale. She clutched her mouth as she backed away. What had happened? Questions raced through her mind as she vomited in the corner. Of course she had forgotten her phone. Distractions were always an issue to her. 

She spit the rest of the vomit out of her mouth to investigate the rest of the house. The dead person had to have a phone or something. Her feet passed lightly over the bloodstains until she reached the next room. A phone hung against the wall. She quickly reached for it and grabbed it. Dead. She slammed it back into its receiver and started walking around the house. This was a bad idea. If she got caught for murder her dream of living on the rooftops would be taken away. She didn't want that to happen. 

The sound of voices suddenly echoed around the house. Someone had arrived. She ran into the bedroom and hid in a closet hiding in the darkest parts of the closed door. 

"What should we do with the body boss?" 

"Leave it for the maggots. Caroline was a person who never left her house. She'll go unnoticed until her body rots through the floor." 

She held her breath. Rosia was in danger. The murderer's were still in the house. She had to get out. Shaking hands, grasped the door handle until a click reached her ears. She crawled out balancing on her feet, hunched over. 

Then she saw them in the room with the dead body. It was too late. They turned to look at her with a shocked expression. 

"Shit she's seen us!" One of them said grabbing a gun from his pocket. Rosia had to act fast. Eye's flicked to the slightly open window. Nostril's flared as she darted across the room shoving the two attackers onto the floor. Feet thudded on the blood soaked carpet and she flew threw the air. Arms spread wide like an eagle. If only she could fly. She was soaring at first. Free. Then she began her descent. Would this end with her face splatted on the pavement. 

For some reason Rosia wanted it to happen like that. She wanted to die but not like this. If any thought rang through her mind it was,  _What is going to happen to me?_ No one but herself could find that end result. 

Blue eyes searched for anything. She could see the ground rushing up to her face. A light pole was in her way though. Her hands reached out for it. Fingers clasped around the metal until she swung around and landed on the ground with a thud. Not the most perfect landing but good enough. 

She ran. Never looking back. The sights and sounds were gone from her memories as she focused on staying alive. 

 


	2. The Man in the Cardboard Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosia finds herself in the pits of the city. Her eyes open to the different way that the world has treated people.

Forgotten she was. Forgotten she had become. The thought of never returning back home brought an uneasy feeling on her. The darkness was darker her then what she had liked. Home never felt good to her but at this point she would've rather have gone home than anything. To feel the warmth of her fireplace and maybe catch a small smile from her mother welcoming her home like nothing had happened that afternoon. Even to see the giant pile of dishes welcoming her home would've been more satisfying to her than anything else. 

Her lungs wanted to burst inside her chest as her feet thudded against the pavement. She ran and ran until nothing seemed real anymore. Images became blurred as she turned into an alleyway. Trash littered the cement. Old newspapers from years ago, rotten pieces of food, and the faint smell of piss. Was someone living in this part of the darkness?

"Is..is someone there?" Her voice squeaked with fear. Hands found the brick comforting as she made her way into the pitch black darkness. This was a bad idea. She knew someone was down there, someone who was probably going to kill her or worse capture her. There was a smash of a bottle as someone lopped out of a cardboard box. Mangled black, greasy hair stuck to the sides of his face. Gleaming red eyes snared anger in the pits of their orbs. Her heart caught in her chest as she began to walk away.  "I..I'm sorry I was just..just leaving."

"Leaving were you?" The drawn out deep voice echoed around the brick walls. His face was dirty and thin. A man who lived on the streets of dispair and life. He was drunk. She could smell it from that far away. Feet slipped on the wet cement as she walked backwards. This was a bad idea. "My name is Rat. What's a pretty lady like you doing in these parts?" 

"Running....." She gulped.

"I'm not blind Sherlock. You look as pale as a ghost. What were you running from? Fear?" He cackled as his feet shuffled. "Oh wait. I can see it in your eyes. You saw something you weren't meant to see right?" 

"H-How did-"

"Little lady I know more than what you intend to hide." He burped heavily. "I  can look into people's souls. I can see what they really are. You my lady are not as truthful as you look." He tapped his temple with one of his badly bruised hands. "Now tell me, did you see something that almost scared you?"

"I-...I saw someone...dead..." 

"Oh the murderers must be coming after you then!" He snickered as he stopped in his tracks. One side of his body leaned on the brick wall for support. This guy was drunk as a sailer. "Carry on then missy. They might be coming." 

He had let her off. How was that even possible? She took that chance and started running away from the strange poor man. The man in the cardboard box. Feet echoed on the narrowing alley's as she continued to run. Further and further into darkness she strayed. She lost track of time. Rosia had never run this far in her life. Houses became more pillaged as she went deeper into the darkness. Fear seemed to make her run faster. She never wanted to be found. What was her family going to do? Would they die as well with her? She hadn't told her attackers who she was but they had gotten a good look at her face. She still had time to warn her parents of any oncoming danger, if they believed her. 

A glowing light appeared. Rosia had entered the last layer of the city. Ramshackled houses littered the street path. Men, women and children gathered around fires billowing in giant cans. This was it. Sector 10. The last place for any human to enter. The only further you could go down was hell. She gulped. She would be sticking out like a sore thumb. Especially with her red and white colored hoodie that looked valuable to any person willing to steal it off her back. Eyes flickered upwards as she stared into the darkened sky. Her home lay up above not this far down in the darkness. She turned her head to look behind her. No one. 

She took a deep breath and entered the hazy atmosphere of the forgotten world. She had often heard of the tales of Sector 10 as a growing child. She heard of the darkened hands that snaked around tiny ankles and whisked you away to never be seen again. Wary eyes kept a look out for anything out of the ordinary. Her back tingled. Those eyes that she could feel through her thick coated sweatshirt could not even keep them away. This was wrong. She couldn't be here anymore. She would have to climb. 

Shaky legs walked into a deserted alley and she started her ascent upwards. There were lots of places to grab a hold of which was good for her sake. Shaky hands were never good when you climbed. Once she reached the top she immediately settled down to get her bearings. The distant glow of the Sector 10 lay before her like a broken puzzle waiting to be put together. Scattered, and lost. That was what it was. A world like her. Free of everything, living in the here and now, free of any burdens...This was her world after all. 

Her freedom was short lived as she closed her eyes and started drifting off. Exhaustion seeped out of her muscles as she relaxed. Her dreams were mixed and matched. They all involved the same person in her clouded dreams. A man. Long black hair tied to a messy ponytail, sharp red eyes that filled with a long hint of anger. In his hands was a long sickled blade dripping with crimson blood. Rat. The man in the cardboard box. 

She awoke sweating profusely. Her dream had been so vivid it almost seemed real. Hands flailed around as she tried to stand up. Then she looked and saw two figures wearing long overcoats. The same figures she had seen standing over the body of Caroline. The murderers. They had found her. 

Her heart raced inside her chest. There was no escaping this time. 

"We've been looking for you for a long time." The taller figure said with an evil smirk crossing over his figures. "You couldn't escape us. Now tell us girl...who are you?" 

She bit her lower lip. "Kill me instead." 

"We like to kill people with names." The shorter one was right next to her neck whispering into her ear. She wanted to vomit. The only way was down. Down to the ground where her body would be crushed. She saw no alternative.

"Do you submit." The tall one was on the other side of her body this time.

"Go suck a dick." Rosia grimaced as she shoved two fists into the guy's chests. Their bodies slammed on the ground with a thud. Was that it? No. A fight was never over.

She leaped on the edge of the building. One foot hovered over the air. It was too late. They grabbed her ankles and threw her back over onto the roof. Her neck smashed into the rotted material sending stars into her vision.

"We'll gut you pretty like we did to Caroline."

Already my vision was failing. The world was turning dark. she would die there. Her curiosity got to the best of her. The tall man held a long shimmering knife in his grasp holding it above my beating heart. This was it. The last time I would see the world. 

Then a faint noise seemed to ring in her ears. A man dressed in black. Belts and weapons hung over his body. In just a slice of two hands the two murderer's were gone. The feel of blood dripping down her forehead was the attackers. 

I couldn't see his face. I wanted to see him. As the world was fading I saw his red eyes stare right into my soul my very being. The man in the cardboard box. Rat. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you guys are liking this story! I am really excited about it. Just recently I've been obsessed with Assassin's Creed and then it hit me one night to write a story about this. Here I am expressing my love for this story. Thanks again everyone!


	3. Scoundrel Among the Living

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosia learns more about Rat and discovers that she has to escape Sector 10 all together.

Eyes slowly fluttered open. Gazing in wonder and excitement they focused on the blinding light foreseeing her view. Where was she? Arms steadied her grasp as they pushed her up to face the world. There was nothing before her. The empty world flamed her view. Fear tingled her stomach but it soon vanished with a whim. She was high atop the world. Her home. 

"Ah. Glad to see that you're awake." A deep voice murmured behind her. She quickly turned around with a whirl of her red curls to see a man sitting on a box. One leg hanging over the edge while the other one hugged his chest. Greasy black hair, red eyes, Rat. 

"W-Wh-" 

"You got into a little bar fight missy. Had to come save your scrawny hide. Who knows what could've happened. What horrible things they could've done to you." His sarcastic voice made her even more angry. 

"You didn't have to come save me. I was just fine by myself." 

"Oh really now? What's that mark on your forehead there lassie? I guess you really did need my help after all...No need to say thank you. I did it out of common courtesy." Arms criss crossed over each other as he jumped down to sit next to Rosia's side. 

"You saw me and wanted to help?"

"No. I saw that look on your face. That mask of horror etched into your very features. Hopelessness. You couldn't jump. You couldn't climb. You submitted. That, lassie, is not what you do in a fight."   
Rosia could still smell the beer coming from his mouth. Putrid. It smelled old and foul. "How much have you had to drink?" 

"None. I wipe it on my lips for a lip gloss..." A smile pierced his face. "No. I use it to distract attackers. Slam them with my horrible breath and there ya have it." Feet shuffled away from Rosia as he went over to the edge of the tower gripping the edge of the wall with one hand and letting his arm hold him in place as he looked over the edge. 

"You must be like me....willing to live up in the sky then most people." I mumbled. His red eyes looked distant as he saw the faint glowing lights before him. 

"No. I run from fear not freedom. Two completely different things." What questions arose in Rosia's mind were one's she wanted to ask Rat but she knew that he never would. He was a man of mystery. 

"Where will you go? Will you ever return home?" 

"No. I can not. I feel those murderers were into something much more than just killing. They had a reason."

"If you plan on uncovering that truth I suggest you get some fighting lessons. Staying in the city won't help much either." Rosia knew that Rat wasn't going to stay with her. It was obvious that the straggler lived a life of solitude, never mingling with humans. "I'll help ya out of the city. That's as far as I'm taking you." 

"Then take me to the outer city. Take me to Sector 11." 

"Lassie that sector no longer exists on the maps. I'd take you if I could but I wouldn't know where to go." An odd feeling began to worm through her stomach. She didn't want to part away from Rat. The stranger had saved her life, lived the same lifestyle as she. It was too good to be true. Life had to take its course, however. This dream of hers would end soon enough. 

"Get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow."

Whatever Rat was hiding he learned to hide his emotions. Was it a horrible past? A memory he wanted to forget? Whatever the case Rosia did what the red eyed man insisted. Sleep was the only option to her. As her eyes closed she thought of home. She had strayed to far away. It was her only option now to give in to what the world was calling her to do. Was this the idea of freedom? She didn't dream that night. A void less mind enraptured her dreams, spiraling in and out of consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of dialogue in this chapter. I wanted to experiment how Rat talked pretty much. I'm sorry this was short but the next chapter I plan to go into more detail about Sector 10. I wasn't planning on making this fan fic futuristic but its kinda turning out that way :D Woops! Thanks for reading! I'm glad that people are actually reading my work. It makes me happy.


	4. No Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that this is so late! I just have been flung with a lot of personal issues that have hindered my writing but here is the next chapter!

Sector 10 lay before Rosia like a puzzle. It's twisted alleys went deeper into the city. She perched above the city like an eagle. Fingers grasped the ledge carefully as she gazed upon the world with no fear in her heart. She saw Rat for the first time in daylight. Beneath his mangled hair mess sat a face scratched with pale scars. Etching an untold story. Harsh lines crossed under his eyes, high cheekbones. Rosia could see the youthfulness in the stranger. He sat perched on the ledge just as she did. He flicked his head to look at her. "We jump." he mumbled.

"W-W-What!?" Rosia stammered. She had jumped off a building once and that was for survival. "How?" He sighed clenching his teeth. 

"Pretend your a bird. The river down below will break our fall." The river. That was their means of escape of Sector 10. A putrid, foul smelling river. No life swam the murky depths. If Rat wanted her to fall she would. "I'll go first so you don't get all scared." He stood up spreading his arms out wide. Eyes blinked close. For a brief second she could read his well hidden emotions. That brief spam of seconds revealed a whole different person. He looked at peace. No anger. Then he jumped. He fell through the air. His black clothes flapping in the harsh wind. He landed in the water in a perfect dive. His body submerged in the black water. She waited until she saw his head poke above the surface. 

She did the same. 'Pretend I'm a bird huh? That should be easy.' Rosia thought to herself. She squared her shoulders letting her feet hold up her form. She wasn't scared. Or was this what it felt to trust your instincts. She let herself go. Her body falling. She felt different as the water rushed to her face. The water hit her, submerging her mind and soul in it's depths.

Her head broke the surface. Her lungs took in the crisp air. Rat swam up ahead. His black hair plastered to his head. She followed. Going downriver was faster then up river. They flowed with the river and not against it. The border to Sector 10 was ahead. If runaways tried to escape they were killed when spotted. She tried not to think of being killed. Rat would protect her. She barely knew him.

His voice shocked her as they swam down the murky black body of water. "Be ready. The dam is up ahead."

"Are we going around?" Her voice managed to say over the bleakness of the waves.

"We're going through it."

"How? It's a straight drop!"

"They patrol the outside parts of the damn barricade like a prison. Going through it is all that we've got. In your circumstance the police are probably putting you on notice for a runaway criminal. If they catch you they won't be afraid to blast you apart."  
Nervousness filled her cold bones. "Have you done this before?"

"Nope. I have been a criminal all my life though. I'm probably more prone to be shot first." He clapped his mouth shut as the dam grew closer. It was huge. She didn't even want to know what was on the other side. A drop much larger than any fall she had accomplished. Guards patrolled the top of the dam. Eyes peeled the water like hawks. She would have to dive down deeper so she wouldn't be spotted. The problem was why they were guarding the dam in the first place. It was just a dam right?

Rat ducked his head under water. The flame haired girl followed suit to the silent walker. Her fingers dug through the water as she swam. Up ahead she could see the concrete wall that seperated the river from the down slope. Rat had reached it first. His body pressed against the massive wall. An ear pressed up against the dam. Listening for something. Rosia broke the surface as soon as she arrived to he spot where Rat had swam too. She blew the black water from her mouth and nose as she looked into Rat's crimson eyes. "Anything?" She mouthed.

He stuck his ear back to the wall. Eyes searched for something that wasn't there. He shook his head slowly sighing.  
"We have to go to through. Below us are bars that reach far below the earth. These bars are what's letting some water in and keeping the dam in place. Lassie, its a far swim down below. Do you think you can make it?"

"The only way I can do that is to try, right?" A glittering smile crossed her face. 

"You have spirit," Rat murmured. "Now, let's go. Whatever you do, don't be afraid." 

His red eyes seemed to glow as those words escaped his mouth. She didn't feel scared. That was the worst part. His words seemed to have an awestruck effect on her. She nodded at his words and quietly waited until he was ready. Instantaneously, he took a huge gulp of air and dove under the surface. She quickly scrambled around as she gathered a gust of air into my lungs. Rosia's head felt the cold water once more as her form dove farther and farther than she ever had before. Rat was ahead of me as I flicked my eyes open. The water swirled around my eyes. The pressure was building, not only in the water around me but in my lungs as well. How far was this? 

Rat stopped. He pointed his finger to his right. Her eyes swiveled and there it was. The bottom of the dam. Thick metal bars drove straight into the earth. Already I could feel the current pulling me in. Rat had swam upwards again so he wouldn't be dragged. However she was feeling the tugging of the current. Rosia was going down. It was getting stronger and stronger. She seemed to find the giant bars that held the dam in place but they were too round for me to even get a hold. Somehow, felt the fear creeping into her fluttering chest. It was a long way down from here. Deep blue eyes looked up at Rat for anything. An answer. 

Suddenly his words struck her heart. "Don't be afraid." The memory just a brief span of time ago swam into her head. As her fingers let go of the slippery bars she drifted faster and faster down the current. Rat's red eyes pierced Rosia's mind as toppled over the edge and into nothingness. I wasn't going to look down. This was the chance for me to live. A chance for her to escape that retched place and live the freedom that she deserve. Rosia was flying once more. The weightlessness was awe inspiring. 

She looked up instead. The dark sky glittering in the heavens. She smiled happily as her hair whipped around her face. The dark sky didn't cloud her view as her body felt the crash of water and earth on her back. Instantly, it was dark. No stars, no feeling of anything but she wasn't afraid. Not even close to feeling the fear or dread. She sank further and further into the darkest parts of her mind, drifting farther and farther away.


End file.
